


Brothers (This is it.)

by annewastaken



Category: DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Dream is a god, DreamSMP - Freeform, Other, So is Tommy, Tommy and Dream are brothers, Tommy and Tubbo are best friends, Tommy and Tubbo are platonic soulmates, Tommy doesn’t know this, Tommy has trauma, dreamsmp finale, everything is platonic, like a lot of it, poor Tommy, smp!dream, the boys need a hug, we don’t ship here unless it’s dnf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:00:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29161548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annewastaken/pseuds/annewastaken
Summary: Tommy raised the axe. “I said all of it, bitch.” He slowly brought the axe to dreams face, the other man unflinching as the sharp blade pulled up the bottom of his mask. “ALL of your things in the hole.” He ordered calmly.TommyInnit has fault the battle and won the war. Dream is in prison! He’s got his stupid mask to prove it, and he should be happy! But, that damn mask is part of his problem. Why under that stupid mask does Dream look exactly like him?(I’m terrible at summaries I promise I write better than this summary entails)
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 232





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for checking out this fic. A few things to note:  
> The fic is going to closely follow the events of the finale, cutting out just a little bit of the dialogue for length sake. Everything will be the same up until the actual bit of Dream putting his things in the hole. Enjoy! Also follow me on Twitter i reused an old account for mcyt content and chapter updates! @/annelizaaaa

This was it.

_ ‘This was it’  _ Tommy thought with a sigh, pulling his freshly crafted Netherite armor overhis shaking limbs. Behind him was Tubbo, having a similar silent ritual as the two suited up for what very well could be their final day alive. The armor they wore was cold and unfamiliar, the impenetrable metal seemingly cutting through their underclothes and chilling the skin below.

“Hey, you okay?” Came a familiar soft voice from behind him. Tubbo smiled at his lifelong friend and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Nevermind, I know the answer. But we’re gonna be okay, yknow? We’ve fought a hundred battles before. Just- you know. This one is final life or death.” He offered cheerfully.

Tommy couldn’t help but laugh, shrugging off Tubbos hand and shaking his head lightly. “Yeah. Thanks, Tubbo. I’m glad I’m going into this with you.”

“Are you almost ready to go then? I think BBH said he wanted to meet us along the prime path and offer a goodbye.” Tubbo mused, shaking out his hair before securing his own helmet on.

Tommy paused, fidgeting with his sleeve and taking a deep breath before letting out a shaky exhale and nodding. “Yeah, yeah I’m ready.”

_This was it_.

The journey of following the compass was long and tedious ,  but the boys spirits were high. After an emotional and warm  ~~ goodbye ~~ _ send off _ from the people of the Dream SMP, both boys found a newly renewed sense of confidence as they sat pressed against each other in the row boat. They approached the great mountain in awe, the only indication of them being in the right place being the faint smoke of a campfire rising from the cliff side. Adrenaline and fear began to course through their veins once again, whispering nervous banter back and forth as they scaled the mountains side. They followed the sight of the campfire smoke with faux confidence, stopping short when they emerged into a clearing, it’s only resident being a familiar masked man.

“Dream.”

“Hello, Tommy.” Dream replied, the cocky smirk they knew he wore clear in his words. “How was your trip?”

Tommy shifted his weight, tapping his fingers on the blade of his axe as he shifted the weight back and forth between his two legs in a nervous bounce. “Why did you call us here, Dream? You said you had the discs and to come and get them and we’re here. So- so give them up.” He stammered, hating the way his voice showed his fear.

Dream chuckled, reaching up to his inventory and producing a stack of obsidian blocks, easily towering himself into the air before producing a jukebox and an all-to familiar disc, making direct eye contact with the two brits before inserting the disc and pressing play.

The sound of Mellohi filled the air, its melody slow and taunting as Dream readied his bow and arrow. “I just wanted to enjoy some music, and offer you two good luck.” He called down to them.

Tommy felt like he couldn’t process his thoughts as he launched into battle, the fight fast-paced and messy as the duo scaled the tower time and time again. As he got his hands on the familiar vinyl circle and was making a break for the water below him, an familiarly harsh voice cut through the cold morning air.

“Stop. TOMMY, STOP!” Dream called, a tone of voice that demanded respect and control. “Get back over here, or I’m gonna kill Tubbo.” He hissed.

“Wh- You can’t, idiot! Tubbo has full netherite armor. You can’t-“ Tommy’s rant was cut off by a scream from the other side of the hill.

“Tommy! Tommy help! Help he’s killing me!” Tubbo cried, holding his sword against dreams, his weaker arms failing to keep the sharpened blade from approaching his face.

In seconds, Tommy was bounding over the jagged rocks and piles of dirt, the disc in hand. “Stop! Stop it! Tubbo, get near me!” He yelled, pulling his friend away from his near fate, shoving him behind himself. “W-What do you want, Dream?” He huffed, voice shaking as he readied his sword.

Dreams mask portrayed no emotion as he held out his hand. “Give me the disc, or Tubbo dies.”

“You can’t kill Tubbo!” Tommy sputtered, eyes wide in rage and fear. “He- he’s stronger than you, you stupid sonofabitch I swear to god I’ll-“

“ _ Enough _ !” Dreams voice cut through the air. “I haven’t even begun to try yet, Tommy. The minute I started to, he was crying in a corner begging for his life.” He laughed, holding out his arms. “I haven’t even used any potions yet!”

Tommy shuddered, only needing a look at the terrified frame of his best friend before he was throwing the disc back at Dreams feet.

“God, Tommy. You really are an idiot. That wasn’t even the disc!” Dream laughed. “Don’t you see? You’re nothing against me. You’ve just proven to me how much power I have over you. That’s the only good thing you’ve done on this server! I’m going to show you how powerful I am, how powerless you are!” He grinned, walking towards the pair and digging a narrow hole in the ground before looking up to meet Tommy’s eyes. “Drop your armor in the hole, Tommy. Because I’m not playing around anymore. Both of you, everything you have in the hole.”

Tommy felt his lungs constrict in a way they hadn’t in months, heart hammering and twisting his chest as the world seemed to close out around anything that wasn’t Dream standing next to a hole. His panicked hesitation only lasted for a few seconds before Dream swung his sword at Tubbo, sending the two of them clambering to remove their items from their inventories and piling them up in the hastily dug hole.

In a familiarly silent motion, Dream had lit a bundle of TNT and destroyed every piece of gear, sending tubbo to his knees.

“I-It’s all gone..” He whispered. “We spent hours making that!”

Dream shook his head at how unfamiliar the younger boy was with the way he did things.

“Follow me.”

And so they did. 

The pair followed the masked man down the side of the mountain, exposed and terrified as they descended into the disc chamber. Tommy could barely register the awe he felt looking at the massive room, the blood rushing in his ears being his only constant. 

He watched as Dream lead them through his hallway of things, bile rising up in his throat as he gazed upon the many empty spots soon to be filled with anything that mattered to anyone. “You’re sick, Dream. You’re fucked up.”

“Ohh am I?” Dream taunted, sarcasm dripping from his tone. 

“You are! You- You’re a deluded man. You’ve got me here, why don’t you just kill me?” He spat. “Why is it never my time to die with you?”

Dream hummed thoughtfully, crossing his arms. “I’m not going to kill you, Tommy. You of all people should know that.”

“Why? Why Dream? Why do you keep me alive?” Tommy retorted, fury taking over the fear in his voice. 

“I’ve already told you,” Dream smirked. “You bring attachment to the server. You keep people attached to things and that keeps me in power. When you were in exile, everything was perfect! People could visit you and you’d keep them attached to everything around them. The only problem was that you could escape, and you did.” He finished darkly. “So, yes. I do need you alive, however. That doesn’t mean you have to be alive and free. I’ve paid Sam to build me a prison. It’s inescapable. As long as you’re there, you stay alive and people stay attached. Tubbo, however. It’s his time to die. I’ve used him to his core, there’s nothing useful left. He’s a follower.”

Tommy felt rage like he’d never experienced coursing through his veins, blindly grabbing the axe of peace from its item frame and slashing it wildly at Dream, barely doing so much as to chip his armor. “Tubbo is NOT a fucking follower! How dare you! I swear to you Dream I’ll-“ He gasped as Dream ducked under his arm and slashed at Tubbo, leaving a sizable cut through the fabric of his tunic and leaving a quick to bleed yet shallow wound. 

“You’re going to listen to me, Tommy. I’m giving you a chance to say goodbye. You don’t have to take it! But then you’ll live the rest of your life rotting in the prison regretting forever that you didn’t take this chance. You have 5 minutes.” Dream spat, turning and walking out of the hallway. 

Tommy met Tubbos eyes, his own welling up with tears as he reached out and pulled him into a fierce hug like it was the last he’d ever get. He ignored the blood from tubbos wound soaking into his clothes, hands shaking as he gripped onto the others shirt. “No. No! Tubbo, Tubbo we’re going to get out of here.  You’re going to get out of here and tell our story. Okay!?” He sobbed, falling to his knees and holding his friend close. 

Tubbo sank down with Tommy, holding him close and stroking his hair in the way only he was ever allowed to, his free hand holding his back. “Hey, Tommy.. it’s okay. It was fun, yknow? We had some laughs. It was a good time!” He reasoned, his voice strangely calm as he held his shaking friend. 

Tommy pulled away to meet Tubbos eyes, his own wide and tear filled. “Tubbo you- why are you just accepting this?! We can still get out of here we- I- you can run to the portal and I-“

“Tommy, stop. It’s okay.” Tubbo hummed, hugging him close one last time. “We had a good run! But it’s like Dream how said I’m a pawn? Well this is checkmate.” He laughed sadly, pulling away before standing up slowly, brushing the dirt from his knees and offering his hand to help Tommy stand. “You’ll tell our story, okay?”

Tommy’s tears flowed freely, his shaking hand grasping at Tubbos fiercely. “But what am I without you?”

Silently, Tubbo reached up to hold a hand to Tommy’s cheek. “Yourself.” He smiled, patting Tommy on the shoulder one last time before walking down the hallway towards Dream. He could hear Tommy hesitate before running to catch up to him, the two of them stopping at the end of the hall to meet Dreams gaze. 

The blond opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a figure ducking out of the nether portal and standing before the group. 

“I’m sorry, Dream.”

If Dreams eyes weren’t covered by his mask, Tommy was sure they would’ve been wide, eyebrows raised in shock. 

“Punz?”

“I’m sorry, Dream.” Punz repeated, shrugging his shoulders casually. “But you should’ve paid me more.”

At that line, dozens of armored fighters came pouring out of the portal, shining swords and axes in hand as they boxed the group in. 

“You came!” Tommy cheered, unable to keep the shock out of his voice. He barely had time to think before he was grabbing Tubbo by the arm and pulling him into the crowd for protection. 

“Hey hey hey hey-“

“No!”

“Dream, get away from them.” Sapnaps voice cut through the uproar of voices, the room falling silent as Tommy and Tubbo watched from behind the mob. 

“What are you all doing here?” Dream asked in a seemingly casual tone, as if it were a minor annoyance and not a group more than capable of taking his life. 

“We’re tired of your shit, man.”

“It ends here.”

_This was it_. 

With the discs locked away safely in an ender chest, Tommy pushed through the crowd to stand before his enemy. 

“I really don’t understand you, green boy. You’ve caused so much pain and loss just so you could be in control.” He took another step, nearly chest to chest with the other. “Kill me Dream. Go ahead! Go ahead and kill me, I know that you won’t.” He spat. Turning his head for a moment and motioning for Tubbo to get behind the crowd. (he definitely would kill Tubbo).

Dream didn’t make a move at Tommy, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re right to say I won’t kill you, Tommy. Because I won’t. And I know you won’t kill me.” He replied cockily. 

“What makes you think I won’t kill you? I don’t owe you shit. You manipulated me, you kicked me while I was down day after day just so you could have your stupid control! You’re a moron if you think I’m not going to kill you until you’re dead.” Tommy scoffed, turning back to the group. “Sapnap, can I have a pickaxe?” He called, the item being tossed to his opened hand almost immediately. Silently, he dug a hole as deep as the bedrock surrounding him would allow, only looking up when it was done to meet Dreams gaze. 

“Dream, put your armor in the hole. All of it.” He deadpanned, holding the axe of peace like it was his shield. 

Dream hesitated, his shoulders falling in defeat as he emptied all of his items into the small pit, removing each peace of his armor until he was left in only his underclothes. 

Tommy raised the axe. “I said all of it, bitch.” He slowly brought the axe to dreams face, the other man unflinching as the sharp blade pulled up the bottom of his mask. “ All of your things in the hole.” He ordered calmly. 

Dream reached up silently, loosening the straps that held his mask in place, hesitating for only a second before dropping it into the hole. 

There was a soft gasp in the group, Tommy’s eyes going wide as he met the gaze of.. himself? No- no. Not himself. It was his carbon copy. Everything from his jawbones to his mess of blond hair copied to a T. The only differences being Dreams green eyes and light brown stubble. 

The two kept their gaze for an uncomfortable minute before the mob closed back around them, cuffing Dream up and holding him powerless. 

Tubbo climbed into the hole and placed all of Dreams items into his ender chest, keeping his crossbow out in his free hand. “Tell them what you did Dream. All of it.” He ordered.

Tommy stayed silent and frozen as Dream told the group about everything face to face. From blowing up the community house to his item hunting to keep power. By the time Dream was escorted away by Sam and the bulk of the group had left, Tommy still hadn’t moved an inch.

Tubbo was escorted away by Eret and Puffy to get his wounds treated, and only Quackity was left to make his way back over to where Tommy stood.

“....Tommy? are you alright man?” He spoke softly, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you just in shock? You did it. You won.” He offered. 

The touch jolted Tommy out of his trance, tears he couldn’t quite place an emotion on welling in his eyes as he looked around wildly to see that everyone besides Quackity was gone.

“Where- where did they all go? Wheres Tubbo?!” Tommy gasped, looking around wildly. How long had he been zoned out?

Big Q kept his hand firm on the others shoulder, keeping him in place. “Tommy- Tommy! It’s okay. You’re alright. It’s all over. Tubbo went back to Erets castle to get that cut checked out. You’ve been standing here for 15 minutes. I was worried about you. What happened?”

Tommy suddenly felt the weight of everything around him come crashing down as he put both hands on Quackity to balance himself. “I- didn’t you see? Dream looks exactly like me!” He cried in shock. “Everything about him from head to toe is my carbon fuckin’ copy!”

Quackity shifted uncomfortably, being one of the only people Sapnap had explained Dreams..  _ familiar _ appearance to. “Uh.. yeah, I did notice that. But surely it’s just a coincidence, right? Lots of people are tall and blond.” He laughed nervously, guiding Tommy towards the portal. “Let’s not think about that, it’s been a long day. Why don’t we get you back home?”

Tommy nodded silently as he was escorted into the glowing purple portal, brows furrowed in thoughts he could feel but not quite grasp.  _ What the hell was going on? _


	2. Chapter 2

Tommy laid restlessly in bed that night, the previous day running through his head so fast he was dizzy. After Quackity had brought him back home, he’d met up with Tubbo, (who was healing quickly in the infirmary thanks to the seemingly infinite and overpowered potions they’d received from Dream). During his visit he was told about everything that had happened between the mask falling from Dreams face to the current moment, most notably being Dream assuring Tubbo that he could bring Wilbur or anyone else back to life via a book he’d received from Schlatt. Apparently this was more than enough for Tubbo to agree upon sparing his life, opting to send him away and be locked up in his own prison. How bloody poetic was that?

Tommy was having a difficult time telling himself that anything that happened today was real life, he was certain it was just a strangely detailed dream. Ranboo had oddly realistic dreams sometimes, maybe he’d talk to him about it.

Even through the hour he had spent laying silently in bed trying to convince himself he’d made up the entire day in his mind, Tommy still found himself sliding out of bed and pulling on his shoes and armor-  _ hey, there were mobs out at night _ _-_ and slipping out into the darkness.

The walk to the prison was quiet and oddly peaceful, a strange contrast to his conflicted thoughts. He’d only had to walk a few minutes before he was entering the reception area/lobby and removing his helmet. Before he could get over to the button to summon the warden, the sound of pistons jolting to life called his attention to the right where Sam emerged from within what was presumably the wardens office.

“Tommy? It’s late. What brings you here?” He asked, light concern gracing his features. His creeper mask was pulled to the side of his face, leaving tired eyes to gaze upon the shell of a teenager before him.

“Hey, Sam..” Tommy muttered, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. Who was he to be shy? He was TommyInnit! He took down Dream!  _ well, he and about 16 others.. but that was besides the point._

“I’d like to go see Dream.”

“Oh.”

Sam rubbed his chin in thought, worry maybe? The emotion was unclear. “Are you sure, Tommy? It’s only been a few hours. Dream told me.. a lot about what happened to you during exile and such, nobody would blame you if you wanted to give it a few days.” He replied carefully.

Tommy wanted to be angry, he wanted to shout and curse and be an asshole to prove that he was a big man who didn’t need anyone’s pity, but something about the way Sam spoke to him was just..  _ comforting _ . It felt similar to receiving criticism from Phil when he was a kid, always careful and with respect even when he’d done the worst of the worst, Phil never made him feel lesser. “No.. yeah, I’m sure. There’s a few loose ends I really need to tie up with him before I never speak to him again.” He finally managed out. “I won’t be long, it’ll be quick.”

Sam thought quietly for a minute, and for a moment Tommy was sure he was going to turn him away, but he eventually let out a small sigh and turned to pull a lever besides him which opened the wall to reveal a long hallway. “Alright, yeah. Let’s go then.”

If Tommy wasn’t so drained, he would’ve been in awe at the amazing inner workings of the prison, the way everything was programmed and coded to move so seamlessly; truly an impenetrable system. The walk to the final cell only took about 5 minutes, all of his items and armor safely stowed away in a locker barricaded by obsidian blocks.

“Are you ready? This is the last step.” Sam called to Tommy from the other end of the current room they were in. “When I activate this, the floor is going to start to move. Hold onto the railing and it’ll pull you across the lava lake and directly into the cell. The prisoner has intense mining fatigue, he can’t harm you in any way. His walls will open to allow you in once the lava has completely closed around you. Okay?”

Tommy took a shaking breath and nodded, readjusting his grip on the cold metal bar and bracing himself for the sudden movement. Before he knew it, he was gliding across the ocean of lava; sweat breaking out under his hairline as the blast of hot air surrounded him. Just as quickly as it started, the ride was over and he found himself stepping off the platform to be face to face with the man who’d been plaguing his dreams for 3 years. As the lava cascaded back down over the entrance, the solid blocks of netherite descended back into the floor, giving the two full access to one another.

Tommy took a hesitant step inside the cell, Dream watching him wordlessly. The thick obsidian walls did wonders to cool the room down from the lava surrounding it, the ink-colored room cold and unfamiliar.

“So you’ve come to visit me?” Dream spoke up finally, arms crossed and expression unreadable as he managed to make himself appear bigger than the other.

Tommy wanted to ridicule him, to laugh and taunt him about ending up a prisoner in his own jail, but the only words he spoke came out angry and so much weaker than he’d wanted them to.

“We have a lot to discuss.”

“That we do.” Came Dreams reply. He let his arms fall to his side as he walked across the cell, hopping up atop his bookshelf and pulling the clock off the wall, turning the small gold circle mindlessly in his hands. “I imagine you now understand why I could never kill you, Tommy. Your terrible friends? Sure. Anyone who wants power? Easily. But taking out my own family would be much harder.” He scoffed, propping the clock back up on its hook.

_Family_?

Tommy was certain he felt the world stop turning for a second, his blood freezing in his veins as he looked at the man before him. “What the fuck are you on about? You stupid bitch, you’re not going to play your dumb mind games with me anymore! I know good and well I’m not your f-“

Dream hopped down from the bookshelf, striding across the small room easily until he stood just a foot away from the younger. “Look at me in my god damn eyes, Tommy. Why do you think you froze up like an idiot when I took off my mask? You see yourself in me because we came from the same place! Sure, I could’ve never proven it to you before with how stubborn you are but it’s time to face the music! You’re no better than me, Tommy. You can’t be, because we’re one in the same.” He sneered, anger flicking through his eyes as he towered above the other.

Through his body shutting down, Tommy barely registered his fight of flight sending him diving for the other side of the room where Sam informed him was an emergency escape, the cold water soaking through his clothes and portal effects dizzying his vision before he was stood back outside the locker room, clothes completely dry and head spinning.

Sam was rushing into the room not a second later, appear at Tommy’s side instantly and grabbing his shoulder for support. “Hey.. hey, it’s okay.. are you alright? What did he say to you? He knows what happens if he misbehaves, why did you use the emergency portal?” Came the rush of questions, none of which Tommy could make himself answer, he simply slumped against the older and rubbed at one of his eyes with the back of his palm.

“I’ve got my home coordinates in the locker room.. do you- can you teleport me home please? I know it’s kind of a difficult thing but I’ve got a pearl in water stasis and I-“

Sam cut him off, guiding him to a chair to sit, the poor kid was obviously traumatized. “Of course, don’t worry about it. Just stay here, I’ll get your things.”

Getting his coordinates set up for pearl travel only took a minute, and before he knew it Tommy was stood back in his home. He dropped his armor and tools at the door, walking silently to his room before collapsing in bed and drifting off into his second round of restless sleep.

He was certain he had only just closed his eyes when a dim light illuminated the space around him, a familiar-feeling presence entering his room and lightly shaking him from his sleep with a cold hand.

“Tommy, wake up.”

Tommy pulled the covers tighter over himself, groaning in protest as he tried to close his eyes tighter to avoid the strange glow. “Not now, Ghostbur. Please. Can’t you see I’m asleep and shit?” He muttered, trying to fade back into unconsciousness.

The voice chuckled softly, the usually blue glow of Ghostbur warming up to reach a golden hue. “I’m not Ghostbur, Tommy.”

Well, that was one way to get him up. Tommy threw the blankets off from himself, eyes flying open as he took in the spirit standing at the foot of his bed.

“Wilbur?!” He exclaimed, rubbing his eyes as if his brother and former president would fade away the minute he woke up.

Wilbur smiled, his tired eyes warm and forgiving as he laughed at the boy he raised like a younger brother. “Did you miss me?”

Tommy was up in an instant, approaching the figure and lightly pushing his hand against his shoulder, shocked at the firm contact to his shirt- stark in contrast to the way things would simply pass through Ghostbur.

“I- Wilbur? Is it really you? How are you here? Where’s Ghostbur?” Tommy sputtered, hands flying to tangle up in his messy hair, eyes wide with disbelief as he met Wilburs warm gaze.

“Ghostbur? I don’t know where that crazy son of a bitch has gone.” He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders casually. “The afterlife called me here for you, I think there’s some things you’ll need to see.”

Tommy gasped, words shaking as he tried to comprehend what was happening. He wasn’t asleep? Surely not, he could feel the ground beneath his feet and the shirt on his back, you don’t feel in dreams. But this couldn’t be real life, what with Wilbur standing before him, so.. “Wilbur... am I dead?” He asked hesitantly.

“No, no. Of course not. You can never truly seem to die, can you TommyInnit?” Wilbur replied, amused. “There’s always been a space for you in the afterlife, of course. But that’s exactly why you’re allowed to visit it like you’re about to now. You aren’t in touch with it yet, which is why I had to come see you when you were asleep to get you on the right astral plane and all, but everything is going to make sense soon. There’s someone you need to see, alright? You can ask me questions later.” He assured, putting a hand on the youngers shoulder.

Tommy really wasn’t sure how he was supposed to oppose any of this, and he was always known to question just about anything, but he found himself agreeing rather quickly before being escorted through the dimensions before reaching what Wilbur had deemed ‘the afterlife’.

“This is the end chapter of the nation of the Dream SMP.” Wilbur explained, hand sweeping across a blank, white.. nothing. Strangely, the place felt familiar to Tommy. In the nothingness he knew there were a million rooms and other life to be found.

“When someone dies, they’re brought here. Everyone is given peace to live amongst others. A final chance, you could say. However, not  _ all  _ of us are.. well, that’s just it. Tommy there’s someone here for you to see. I don’t know that he knows you’re able to come here, but again I think all of your questions will be answered soon.” He finished, guiding Tommy further into the seemingly endless void until a hallway materialized in front of them, the pair walking down it until it let out into a small study of sorts, books and papers strewn across a desk, a figure standing behind it with his back turned to them.

The figure stacked a pile of papers neatly setting it aside, seemingly unaware to the figures behind him before Wilbur cleared his throat. “Ah, Dream? There’s someone here for you.”

The man paused, suddenly aware of the two sets of eyes on him as he turned around, eyes flicking immediately to Tommy’s before widening in horror.

“Tommy!?”

“Dream?!” 

“What th- What the hell are you doing here?! Wilbur, what the hell is Tommy doing here?!” Dream exclaimed, making no moves towards the pair as his mind raced with the possibilities that could’ve lead them to this moment.

“Dream, Dream listen I know what you’re thinking but I promise you Tommy is alive and well back down on earth. He had a run in with.. well, you know.. and he knows.” Wilbur explained hesitantly.

At this, Dream stilled. His eyebrows raising in disbelief. “He.. knows? How much does he know?” He asked, eyes flicking over to meet Tommy’s.

“To put it lightly, you can finally introduce yourself properly to your brother, but I’m sure he’s got a million questions to ask you first.” Wilbur replied, arms crossing as he looked down at Tommy.

Tommy, who had been silent after his previous outburst, was suddenly full of thoughts and words once more, as Wilbur had implied. “What the hell do you mean  _ ‘your brother _ _’_?! Dream was telling the truth? Wait no- this is Dream? But if this is Dream and you know that it is then who’s the fuckin’ monster that exiled me and almost killed Tubbo today thats locked up in his own god damn prison!?” He babbled, both men seemingly catching his every word.

“I- wait.  _ He’s _ calling himself Dream? He tried to kill Tubbo? He did  _ what _ to you? And what’s this about a prison?” Dream asked incredulously.

Wilburs eyes closed for a moment, and three chairs surrounding a small table appeared before them, a chair coming to each of them and guiding them into taking a seat. “I’m sure we’ll get to that. The mind is a powerful thing and I’m sure Tommy’s is racing right now, let’s give him a chance to speak.”

Tommy sunk into the chair, folding his arms and shaking his head. “Absolutely not. There is no way in this earth that I’m related to him. I don’t know how there are two of you or how I’m even here but I’m sure I’m just hallucinating. Dream is a literal god. Like, the man can pull things out of thin air and teleport without pearls or portals. I don’t care if we look practically identical, I’m no god. Big man? Absolutely. God? Not a chance.”

Dream thought for a moment, setting the mask that had been perched aside his head the same way Sam tended to wear his on the table before speaking again. “Tommy, how old are you?”

“Is this a trick question? I’m 16.” Tommy scoffed.

“Alright.” Dream hummed. “And how long have we known each other?”

“3 years.” He replied again, unsure where Dream was meant to be going with this.

Wilburs eyes lit up in realization, a symbolic puzzle piece clicking into place in his mind. “I watched you grow up, Tommy. From a baby to now. So you aged for 16 years.” He mused.

“Exactly!” Dream exclaimed. “Tommy has been 16 since the day I met him. He hasn’t aged in 3 years. Why would that happen besides my presence knocking him away from his worldly form?”

Tommy frowned, brown furrowing in thought. “Wait.. wait. You’re really telling the truth about all of this?”

“You have every right not to trust me.. or rather who you think I am, Tommy.” Dream replied sincerely. “But Wilbur would have no reason to deceive you. I’m your brother. We come as a descendant of a higher god. I was his first son, he sent me to the human world when his affair with a goddess was discovered among the other gods. Most notably angry being the goddesses husband. I was left as an immortal with no way to reconnect with the gods at the age of 13, I aged for another 8 years as a human until you appeared and set in my immortality. Since we were removed from the gods, we were both exiled to live as humans.. that is until crossing the paths of a family member, sealing in our immortality and everything that comes with it. That ‘everything’ is how you’re able to be here today.” He explained.

Tommy took a moment to process everything he had just learned, the knowledge racing between feeling foreign and familiar. “Well that explains you being here.. but, how did I get here? Why did it take 8 years before my being on the earth impacted you?”

“5 years after I was cast down to earth, our parents reconnected and conceived you on mere mistake. They knew the gods would riot at another being born, so you were cast down to earth as an infant. Our mother knew she could never see you again, but she didn’t wish for you to die. So, she put you in the path of Philza. That’s how you were found and adopted by him. You grew up with them until moving to the SMP. At our first direct contact, I felt my connection to the gods connect distantly and I knew immediately you came from them as well. I could tell you had no clue about your other half, so I planned on keeping it a secret until your immortality couldn’t be ignored any further.” Dream explained.

Tommy’s mind was reeling at all of the information he’d received. Sure, he knew Techno and Wilbur weren’t his blood related brothers. Philza, though not the greatest at times, raised him like he was his own child and made a place for him in the family, so he’d never really spent time considering where his real family was since he’d always had a place with them instead. Was this why he always felt so drawn to Dream? Why even through every horrible thing that had happened to him he still felt a strange sense of belonging and comfort near the god?

“Well, that makes.. more sense than I’d care to admit.” Tommy muttered. “But, If you’re here, then who did all of that shit to me back on.. what did you call it? The upper world or some shit? Who is he?”

Dream grimaced at the mention of the ‘ _ dream _ ’ Tommy had known in the last few months. “That’s.. Well.. Every god or deity who lives among the humans but remains connected to the gods has two halves of themself. It varies for every dimension. The kings of the end and the gods of the nether send their young down as hybrids, when the gods of the overworld have to cast someone away, they’re sent down as humans with a mental split between their godly half and their human form. We descended from the god of wrath. Have you ever found yourself angry out of nowhere and then completely calm the next minute?” He asked.

“I can answer that.” Wilbur Interrupted, “Yes. Absolutely. Tommy is one of the most bipolar spitfires I’ve ever met.. little gremlin.” He teased, earning a shove from the god in question.

“That’s fuckin’ rude.” 

“You can’t deny it.”

Dream laughed at the brotherly interaction. “Exactly. Those kinds of instances are your godly half and human half fighting for control of whatever scenario you’re in. The voice of your anger demands violence or fighting while your voice of reason urges you to keep connections to people and think rationally. However, it’s a god vs a human in your head, so it’s easier for anger to win. As soon as you make that realization, it can be easier to harness your emotions, only let the wrath inside you come out when you want it to. I’ll warn you though, there’s almost always a cost for being unrightfully wrathful.”

Thinking back on every bad decision he’d made/every war ever started due to an outburst of his, Tommy had no issues believing this. “So we have two sides... okay.. that still doesn’t tell me who’s down there rotting in a prison cell.” He reminded him.

“Right.. him.” Dream sighed. “My thoughts had always been rather...vocal. Because I was sent down as a young teenager, I had a strong connection with the gods already. So when I became reunited with my godly half, it literally split into two entities combining into one human form. While the name given to me by other humans was Clay, My human half is Dream, the other: Dreamon, which translates to nightmare. I lived most of my life as Dream as it was the name given by my mother. The Dreamon had always lived inside of me and fueled my anger whenever it could.” He explained.“I pretty much had everything under wraps until Tubbo went hunting for an entity he felt the presence of. I volunteered, thinking the worst he could do would be casting away the negativity from my wrath. Unfortunately, he read the ritual wrong and I was cast away to the afterlife while Dreamon was left to take my human form and run rampant. Being connected to my life, it knew what it needed to do to have power.”

Tommy was once again lost in his thoughts, every awful thing happening since that damned ritual racing through his mind in a flurry of painful memories and trauma. “He used me as leverage with everyone. Said I brought attachment to the server. He planned to take something from everyone on the server so he’d always have the upper hand. He was going to kill Tubbo but not me. I never knew why he’d always say it wasn’t my time to die.. but, now..”

“You realize you don’t  have a time to die.” Dream finished. “He’s right in saying he couldn’t kill you, but that wasn’t just fond family bonds talking. You’re a god that matches us equally. He literally can’t kill you as half a form.”

Tommy looked up suddenly, “Dream, you said Tubbo felt the presence of an entity. What do you mean? How could he feel that presence?” He questioned.

“That’s easy.” Dream replied. “Every overworld god cast down into the human realm is given a companion, a platonic soulmate if you will. Mine is Sapnap, yours is Tubbo. Your souls are intertwined. Sapnap has known that the Dream down there isn’t really me for months. I explained our connection to him the moment I realized he was my companion when we were kids, which only helps our bond grow spiritually. While Tubbo doesn’t realize you two are spiritually connected, he still feels the presence of other gods.”

Tommy hummed in thought, nodding in understanding as more and more of the blank pieces of his life began to click together. “So then how do I get you back in the overworld? How do I make the Dreamon either reconnect with you or go.. y’know, away.”

Wilbur and Dream exchanged a knowing look, Wilbur getting up from his seat and producing a leather bound book, sliding it across the table. 

“To bring back a human is one thing, Toms.” Wilbur explained, opening the book to show Tommy a page describing a complex ritual. “There’s already enough that goes into it that’s complicated, but it’s do-able. Casting a god back down to earth to connect with his own form? Nearly impossible. It can be done, and if there’s anyone to do it it’s his own brother. But this isn’t something we can accomplish over night.”

Tommy paused for a moment to think about the knowledge he was just given. “..I have to try.” He decided firmly. “You two are my family. Wilbur, I know L’manburg has always been your unfinished symphony, but it doesn’t have to stay forever unfinished. There’s so much good you can do to the world if you’ll agree to come back.” He urged, earning a small smile from Wilbur before turning to the other god. “Dream, this has been the weirdest day of my life, but if I can gain the only real family I have  and take down the thing that’s brought all of my friends pain, that’s about the greatest possible outcome I could imagine.”

Dream reached across the table and grabbed Tommy’s closed hand. “You’re set out to do amazing things, Tommy. If there’s anyone who can fix the damage of a dozen wars, it would probably be the one who started them.” He teased, causing Tommy to pull away and swat at him.

“Alright, dickhead. I changed my mind. You can stay in the void.” He huffed, standing up and crossing his arms.

Wilbur and Dream laughed at this, the two standing up and making the table and chairs vanish in the same strange way they’d appeared.

“Alright then, come on now. You’ve only got about 4 hours of sleep left for you back in the overworld before you get woken up. I’ll take you back.” Wilbur offered.

Tommy nodded, not really feeling the need to sleep but listening regardless. Today had been... a lot, to say the least. He was ready to get a fresh start.

With a final goodbye to Dream, the two descended back into the overworld, fatigue and body aches crashing down on Tommy the moment he set foot in his room and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to just sleep forever. He turned to Wilbur and felt sadness overrun his senses.

Seeming to notice this, Wilbur pulled Tommy into a hug, running a hand through his hair in the way he knew calmed him down. “I’m proud of you, Tommy. I couldn’t possibly have gotten a better little shit of a brother.” 

Tommy groaned into Wilburs shoulder as he tried to escape the hug, eventually freeing himself and stomping back to his bed like a toddler who didn’t get their way. “Never mind, I didn’t need your brotherly affection anyways, dickhead. Go away.”

Wilbur laughed and seemingly floated over to the bed, flicking Tommy on the forehead before fading off back to the afterlife. “See you soon, prick.”

Tommy couldn’t help but to smile as he adjusted under his covers, eyes shutting as soon as his head hit the pillow. “See you soon, Wilbur.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy has a lot of shit to figure out and a lot people he needs to talk to.

Tommy woke up the next morning feeling oddly refreshed from the previous nights events and knew he was ready for action. Did he know how exactly he was going to bring back his dead brother and his other  _not-dead-but-still-in-the-afterlife_ brother ? ...No. Not a clue. But there was still somethings he could be in control of, the first of them being talking to his own partner in crime who was apparently connected to his soul. For whatever reason.

“TUBBOOO!” Tommy yelled announcing his arrival as he kicked open the door to his friends quiet Snowchester home. He spent no time shucking off his armor and letting himself into Tubbos bedroom where the older boy was curled up sleeping under a thick stack of blankets.

Tubbo woke up with a groan, rubbing his eyes and squinting at the bright morning light streaming in through the now open doorway. “Mmnh.. Tommy? What are you doin’ here so early? What time is it? You’re never awake before me.”

Tommy yanked open the curtains to let the bright daylight stream in, grabbing Tubbo’s compass from his bedside table and taking a seat with his legs crossed on the end of his bed, spinning the small metal circle in his hands to watch the needle twirl desperately to point at his heart. “I didn’t bother checking the time, that’s an unimportant detail. Up up now! I had quite the fuckin’ night I have to tell you about.” He ushered, nudging the mass of blankets with his foot.

Tubbo let out another groan of protest, slowly sitting up and leaning back against his bed frame, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. “Okay, okay. I’m up. What do you mean you had ‘quite the night’? How could you possibly have all this energy after everything that happened?” He muttered the last bit to himself, shaking his head and stretching.

Tommy noticed the slight wince from his stretch and frowned, forgetting briefly about his own dilemma. “How are you feeling, big man? The health pots are working aren’t they? Do you need to go back to the infirmary?”

“Nah, the health and strength did wonders. I’m just sore is all.” Tubbo shrugged, pulling up his shirt to show Tommy the thin white scar crossing his chest down to his stomach. “I can’t even feel it, really. It was pretty shallow.”

Tommy nodded, content with the answer but still mentally noting to make sure he had enough extra healing pots brewed up just in case the pain ever came back and he needed any. “That’s good, I’m glad you’re okay. I’ve got a lot to tell you though, okay? Like- a lot a lot. It’s got to do with big man Dream.”

Tubbos eyes lit up at the mention of Dream, reaching with a pillow out to smack Tommy lightly. “Dude! Did you see him without his mask? He looked just like you! You two could be brothers or something!” He laughed, looking over to Tommy, his mouth falling open in a silent ‘o’ when he saw the others uncomfortable expression. “No way... Surely not.. Toms,  _ is _ Dream your brother?” He gasped.

Tommy grimaced, shrugging lightly and rubbing the back of his head. “I... yeah. Yeah he is. I didn’t know until I saw him but uh..”

“Does that mean you’re a god?!” Tubbo exclaimed, holding his pillow close to his chest. “That’s sick! My best friends a god! Can you do cool tricks like Dream can?” He asked excitedly.

Tommy couldn’t help but laugh at how excited Tubbo was at the news, shaking his head fondly. “I don’t know much about it, Tubbo.” And he went on to explain everything from the previous night from seeing Wilbur all the way to talking with the ‘real’ half of Dream.

Tubbos eyes were wide with the new knowledge, and if you were to look inside his head you could see the metaphorical gears turning as he tried to piece everything together.

“Wait.. so I accidentally set loose the demonic half of a god of wrath and imprisoned his better half in the afterlife... but that god comes from the same place you came from making you his  _ brother _ who is  _ also _ a god, and now you know who your parents are but can never meet them because they’re big gods who made you and Dream by mistake which pissed off the other gods.. and now you have to find a way to bring back not only the brother you were raised with but also your blood related god brother who you were convinced up until this point hated you but was actually just protecting you from your own immortality?” He asked in awe.

Tommy listened to Tubbo rapidly piece together the timeline, nodding through his rant before laughing. “Yes, exactly. Also, our souls are connected by the gods so I’m literally anchored to this earth via our connection and so then you therefor share some of my connections to the higher realms. Wish I knew anything about how that worked or why they picked your clingy arse of all being.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Tubbos mouth dropped open at this piece of information, eyes sparkling with excitement as he tackled Tommy in a hug. “YEAHH! YOU’RE STUCK WITH ME THROUGH FATE! GOD BROSSSS!” He cheered, rocking back and forth aggressively into the hug.

Tommy let out a wheeze of laughter, shoving Tubbo off and pretending to wipe off any areas he had touched. “This is the worst day of my life, now I know why you’re so clingy.” He teased, earning another smack across the head from Tubbos pillow. “Anyways, now we have a new task to do before I can visit Dream and Wilbur again tonight. I need to figure out how to get more in touch with all this shit and have more control over it, but our resident demon is all egg obsessed and I think gods are a little out of Erets realm of understanding.” He explained.

Tubbo was silent in thought for a minute before perking up. “We should go speak to Philza! Or- rather, you should. They’re not the biggest fan of government leaders over there, so I know an ex president wouldn’t exactly be welcomed with open arms.” He half joked. “Phil already raised a blood god, plus Ranboo is an Ender Prince. Raising gods is just part of him at this point, whether he knows it or not. I’ll bet he knows something that can help you out!” He beamed.

Tommy couldn’t help but agree, Philza himself being a descent of the Aether had indeed raised his fair share of gods due to some strange twist of fates. There was no harm in at least trying, so after spending a little while more talking with Tubbo and dressing himself for the cold of the snow biome, he set off on his journey to the Arctic empire. 

••• 

Three knocks sounded from the front door, interrupting Philza’s quiet morning coffee. He half expected Techno to have forgotten his key and locked himself out from his morning expedition to do his daily farm upkeep, what he didn’t expect was his youngest son to be at his door step,skin flushed from the cold and little snowflakes caught in his hair.

“Tommy? What a surprise. What brings you over to this side of the map? Come in, it’s freezing out there. Techno’ll be home soon.” Philza urged, ushering the boy inside and taking his coat to hang up. “Stay on the mat while you take off your shoes, no tracking all that snow through the house. Can I get you any tea?”

Tommy couldn’t help but smile at the old yet familiar ritual, Phil hadn’t always been the greatest parent growing up, but Tommy knew he cared about his sons more than anything in the world. “No thank you, I actually just came to see you. How are you big man?”

Now it was Phils turn to smile, a knowing warmth in his eyes as he pulled out an extra chair at the small table for Tommy to sit in. “Flattering, but you always just use your communicator when you want to say hi. What’s going on, Toms?”

Tommy let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding in, posture slouching in mild relief. Phil always could see right through him when he was lying. “It’s.. a lot.” He sighed, looking up to see a steaming cup of tea being slid over to him regardless of his previous answer. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Phil nodded. “And it can’t be that much, I raised a blood god and two chaos gremlins. There’s nothing that you could possibly surprise me with at this point.” He laughed.

Tommy laughed awkwardly at this, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared into the steaming cup before him. “About that.. Turns out you actually raised 2 gods, I learned recently..?” He corrected, looking up at Philza who was choking on his coffee.

“....Alright, I guess there’s one thing you could’ve said to surprise me.” He coughed, wiping his mouth and setting the mug back down. “I was just assuming you’d started another war and needed help again. This, this is a new thing for you to bring to me.”

“That is so!-“

Phil raised an eyebrow silently.

“Yeah.. yeah.. no wars today.” Tommy huffed, crossing his arms stubbornly.

“That’s what I thought.” Phil smiled, taking another knowing sip of coffee. “Now, I know you’re not a blood god like Techno. You never have the urge to kill anything, I know you don’t like death, and I know you’re not an aether angel for.. obvious reasons... So I’ve always just grouped you with Wilbur as another force of chaos I got stuck with. What changed?”

Tommy thought about the comparison for a moment, picking up his spoon and stirring his tea absentmindedly. There was really no way to phrase it lightly or lead up into it, so he just bluntly replied, “Dream is my brother.”

Philza almost choked on his coffee for a second time that morning. Once again on his list of everywhere he thought the conversation might go, never did he think it would be Tommy telling him the god of wrath he fought with on a weekly basis was his immediate family.

“Oh.”

“Yeah..”

Pinching the bridge of his nose in concentration, Phil let out a heavy sigh. “So... let me get this straight, I’ve raised a blood god, the human embodiment of chaos AND a god of wrath?” Phil replied. “And not even to count the enderprince I’ve taken under my wing in the last month. You’re telling me I’ve only raised ONE human son?”

“Well when you put it like that it’s just harsh.” Tommy huffed into his tea, letting the steaming air warm his windburned cheek. “I also er.. I talked to Will. Not Ghostbur, Wilbur. He pulled me out of my dreams and took me to see, y’know, Dream.”

Philzas eyes widened at this, he was aware of the capabilities of overworld gods and their connections to the spiritual world, but he’d never taken time to consider their ability to speak to the deceased seeing as the only god he spoke to on a regular basis was his bloodgod son. “You spoke with Will? How is he?” He asked softly, the guilt he worked hard to suppress welling back up inside of him.

Tommy couldn’t help but return Phils sad smile, reaching across the table to take his hand. “He’s doing good, Phil. He doesn’t blame you, y’know. He hates the idea of you upsetting yourself over this.” Did Tommy ever actually  _ ask _ Wilbur how he felt over his death? No. He had bigger things on his plate. However he knew Wilbur and he knew Phil, and he was certain that even if he asked Wilbur to put his feelings in writing, their answers wouldn’t vary. “He actually told me a lot.. that’s why I need your help.” He added with a sigh, and so begun his long explanation of the events of the previous nights encounter. He told everything from his head hitting the pillow to Tubbo sending him off the next day, and by the time he had finished the story the morning sun was high in the sky.

“And so I don’t know where to start or who to talk to, but I know I need to see Dream again tonight. Real Dream, not the one in prison.” Tommy explained, running a hand through his hair. 

“Who’s going to see the homeless man tonight?” Came a voice from the front room, a snow covered Techno entering the doorframe not a second later. “Oh god. What are you doing here Tommy? You better not be guilting Phil for money just because your armor got stolen again.”

Tommy groaned at the sight of his brother, slumping in his chair dramatically. “Good morning, Dickhead.”

“Techno, be nice.” Phil warned, standing up and taking both of the empty cups to the sink before rinsing them out. “You too, Tommy. You two love each other deep down. Act like it.”

The two gods looked at their father with mouths agape, a million arguments forming behind their eyes. 

“Not my fault he betrayed me for a piece of plastic.”

“ _ He _ started it! He wanted to blow up L’manberg and work with my-“

“Boys!” Philza shouted over the arguments, turning away from the sink and crossing his arms. “That’s enough, I’m tired of you two fighting. Tommy, apologize to Techno for using him and betraying his trust. Techno, apologize to Tommy for not understanding and trying to separate his connections to his discs and friends. I won’t make you apologize for blowing up L’manberg because I don’t like them.” He added, turning back to the sink and grabbing a rag to dry off the now clean cups. 

“HA!” 

“ _ Phil! _ ”

Phil turned back around to face his sons, only raising an eyebrow as he dried off the coffee mug, looking between the two of them expectantly. 

“...Sorry for being a bad brother and betraying your trust even though you were being a massive prick.” Tommy huffed, crossing his arms. 

“I guess I’m sorry for not being considerate of your connection to dumb people and items.” Techno muttered, looking away. 

Phil sighed in defeat, knowing this would be the best he got from either of them and stacking the cups back into the cabinet. “Good enough. Now, Techno, what do you know about reconnecting a spirit who’s been split between worlds?” 

Techno was taken aback by the question, raising an eyebrow at Phil as he hung up his heavy winter cloak and took off the pigskull mask that he had on the side of his head. “That it’s extremely difficult as a human and you’d have to have a strong connection to both worlds as well as a firm reasoning to rejoin them. Why?”

Tommy perked up at this, mentally checking off the boxes of what he already had. “And if there were a god who just learned that they were one and they had to save another god who happened to be their brother from the spiritual world, would that be difficult?”

“A split god?” Techno questioned, looking over at the brit. “If there was a god split between two worlds and they miraculously had a brother who showed up willing to help, then no. It wouldn’t be too hard once they formed a stronger connection to the spiritual half.”

“Really?!” Tommy eyes lit up. “Where would we start?”

“ _ We _ ? Techno questioned. “So this isn’t just some figure of speech then? Interestin’. Who’s the brother of a god who just found this information out? And who’s the spirit?”

Philza chuckled at this, looking from Tommy to techno in amusement. “Take a guess.”

“Oh god.” Techno groaned, looking over to his beaming brother. “I can’t say I didn’t already have my suspicions but why’d he have to find out now? Do you know how much more difficult that makes my favor?” He muttered. 

“Techno, you already knew?” Phil asked in surprise.

“ _ Knew _ is a stretch. I don’t bother learning about overworld magic.” Techno explained, shrugging. “But when you meet two people who have the exact same fits of rage and power trips and you already know that one of them is a god of wrath, it doesn’t become that difficult to connect the dots. Especially since Tommy stopped aging as soon as he met Dream. Seriously, kids been 16 for years. Sure he can choose how he presents himself agewise  _ now _ but c’mon. It wasn’t  _ that _ hard to see.”

Philza scoffed, wings flaring slightly in defense. “It was _a_ _ little _ hard to see! I’m literally a fallen angel, I think  _ I _ of all people could recognize a god who got kicked from heaven.”

“Apparently not.” Techno chuckled. “The aether really likes throwing you challenging sons to raise, huh?”

“Tell me about it.” Phil groaned, rolling his eyes fondly and ruffling both of his sons hair before walking away to retreat upstairs. 

Tommy spent the rest of the morning explaining to Techno the story he’d already told twice to Phil and Tubbo, being careful not to leave out details as he followed his older brother around and helped with all of the animal related chores. 

“You’ve got a lot on your plate, Toms.” Techno replied, slinging a bag of grain over his shoulder and moving his long pink hair out of his face as he walked over to the cow farm. “It’s going to be difficult for you to get in touch with yourself without having Dream to guide you through what you have and don’t have.” He explained, ripping the bag of dried corn open and dumping it into the feeders. “You’re going to have to figure out enough to get you back into the spiritual realm on your own, there’s only so much blood gods and overworld gods have in common that I can teach you.”

Tommy nodded along, hopping down from the fence post he was sitting on and following Techno to the well where they took turns filling buckets of water. “I know, but if there’s anyone who can help it’d be you. You visit your voices all the time when you need them to help you, can you help me get in touch with the afterlife again?”

Techno thought about the similarities for a minute before shrugging with a sigh, knowing the younger wouldn’t give up until he got answers. “Yeah, sure. We can try it. I’m not sure why a god of wrath gets to be in touch with the peaceful side of the afterlife, but whatever.”

“Thank you, Techno!” Tommy cheered, almost knocking his brother over in a hug.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Get off me.” He scoffed, ruffling the youngers hair to mess it up as much as possible before pushing him away. “Let’s go back inside and see where we can get to before it’s dark. I don’t want you traveling at night.”

—-

“Alright Tommy, just focus.” Techno urged, the two were sitting cross legged on the floor of the storage room, all the light blocked out from the curtains leaving only the flame of a single candle to illuminate the space. “Flame comes from power, you need to reach deeper into your mind and find your connection to the flame. Use that connection and blow it out.”

Tommy’s eyes were closed tightly as he let out an exasperated groan, the two had been sat for half an hour trying to get him in touch with any ounce of his godly half. He’d seen Dream throw objects with a flick of his gaze and teleport away from situations on a rare occasion. Why couldn’t he just put out the damn flame?

Techno watched in amusement as the flame flickered aggressively each time the blond became aggravated. Could he just tell him that he’d have to channel his anger to use any of his ability? Of course he could. But where’s the fun in that?

“Maybe you’re just not doing it right, have you tried just being better?” He drawled sarcastically.

Tommy gasped and the flame disappeared into a puff of smoke, his eyes flaring open as he threw his arms up in exasperation. “Alright dickhead you try it then! It’s not my fault you’ve got fuckin’ voices in your head that’ve told you how to be good since birth!” He shouted, sputtering at the blood gods amused smirk. “What’s so funny, arsehole!?”

Techno just rolled his eyes and smiled, gesturing to the extinguished flame. “You really are fueled by wrath, aren’t you? Surely you don’t think Dream can just summon his ability out of hope and positivity.”

Tommy looked at the candle with wide eyes, awe mixing with frustration as he closed his eyes again, this time channeling that frustration until he felt the warm orange glow of a flame return to his face.

“Holy shit.”

“..That’s terrifying knowledge for you to have.” Techno sighed, shaking his head.

“I did it!” Tommy cheered, jumping up and nearly knocking over the candle as he celebrated. “I just had to-“ he paused, looking at the older again. “Why didn’t you just TELL ME how to do it?”

Techno raised an eyebrow at the younger. “Just  _ tell _ you that you can manipulate your anger into abilities? Yeah. Ok. Because that makes sense for my safety. ‘ _Oh hey Tommy, next time you get pissed off at me just remember that you can throw shit with your mind’”_

“I could throw shit with my mind?!”

“I won’t answer that.”

Light streamed in from the doorway as Philza peeked into the room. “Are you two arguing again? It’s getting late, Toms you’re welcome to sleep here but I’d imagine you’d want to head back home before it’s too dark. I don’t want you to get caught up with phantoms.”

Tommy stood up and brushed off his pants, nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. I need to check up on Tubbos bees before I forget.”

Techno and Phil exchanged a look, Philzas being warmer as he stepped out of the door frame to let Tommy out into the hall. “Is he doing okay? I know you mentioned he got a little hurt in the fight. Government official or not you know we love Tubbo too, don’t let him forget that. Okay?”

Tommy couldn’t help but smile as he pulled Wilburs old coat back on, debating on pulling the faded grey beanie out of the pocket to protect his ears from the frigid air but deciding against it. “I know. Thank you, Phil. For everything. You too, Bitchnoblade.”

Techno rolled his eyes while Phil laughed, the pink haired man standing up from the floor and crossing his arms. “I take back all of the knowledge I gave you. Give it back.”

Tommy laughed, one foot already out the door. “In your dreams, dickhead.” He replied, giving a final nod to the two before ducking out into the cold night.

“Be safe!” Philza called behind him, his voice being swept up by the wind. 

•••

After making a quick stop to check on Tubbos bees, Tommy was back home and shaking the snow from his clothes in the doorway. As he walked into his room and got settled in for bed, he worked hard to concentrate on what Techno had taught him, forming a mental connection to what he remembered of the afterlife until he felt his body become lighter and the air around him becoming seemingly brighter. Opening his eyes, Tommy gasped to find himself back in the strange white void.

“Holy shit.. I did it.” He muttered, looking around for any sign of afterlife. “Wilbur?” He called out.

“Tommy, is that you?” Came a far off voice, Dream emerging out minutes later. He had his mask pulled away to the side of his head, making it hard for Tommy to miss the way his eyes lit up at the sight of the younger. “You actually made it back! How’d you figure it out?”

Tommy was put off at the sight of Dream being so friendly. His mind was working hard to tell him that this was all just another act of manipulation, that the real Dream would show his true colors and remind him any minute if he made a wrong move.

“..Tommy?” Came Dreams voice again, confused now as he watched the youngers stare go blank, his shaky hand reaching absently up to where an inventory would appear in the overworld.

Tommy shook his head quickly to escape his thoughts, rubbing his arm absentmindedly. “Sorry about that, big man. It’s just hard to see you being.. nice. The one down there is only nice to me when he wants more control.” He laughed awkwardly.

Dreams brow furrowed in confusion, the room shifting around them until they were back in the study they’d been in with Wilbur the previous night. “What? I mean- that makes sense, I know how his thoughts go, obviously. But what do you mean exactly? Why were you going to your inventory space?”

Tommy couldn’t help but cringe at the memories swirling in his head, being in the afterlife only amplified his mind, and his anxiety was having a field day painting him a picture of his time in exile. “I don’t know how much you know about what goes on down there, as I’ve never been separated from that part of myself, so sorry if I tell you information you already know. Basically, the Dream- er, Dreamon down on earth took hold of something stupid I did and threatened to imprison L’manberg if Tubbo didn’t exile me from the entire SMP. Which he did, obviously. Didn’t have much of a choice. I don’t really like to talk about what happened down there in exile but to put it short, Dreamon was basically the only person who would come see me and he made sure I knew he was my only ‘friend’. If I listened, things were okay, I’d have to give up any armor and tools I would get before I could start my day. But those were only on the good days. If I didn’t listen...” He trailed off, his mind reeling with the memories.

Dreams eyes were wide as he listened to the new information. Being disconnected from that side of his soul also disconnected him from the ability to justify its actions. He still understood the nature his other half perfectly, so he didn’t doubt the story in the slightest. What he was having a hard time dealing with was the way ‘he’ had clearly traumatized the other. 

“Tommy... I had no idea. I’m so sorry, you don’t have to be here if you don’t want to.” He assured. “I understand.”

“No, no.. I want to help you. And Wilbur, for that matter. It’s just to talk about what you did to, well, you.” Tommy explained.

Dream contemplated this for a moment, looking away in thought. “My case isn’t exactly like yours, actually. Your abilities are tied into your entire being. You were raised as a human so your half from the overworld is completely meshed with your human soul. The more you learn about yourself, the more in touch you’ll become, which will therefor make you stronger with said abilities. I on the other hand was raised primarily in the overworld. When the gods cast me away, my soul from there and my soul from earth simply intertwined rather than mixing completely, leaving them with the potential to unravel as they have now. When you saw me before Tubbo’s exorcism and I would use any of my abilities, I wasn’t channeling them entirely with anger because I had such a clear separation. My godly half, the Dreamon, was more like a voice in the back of my head trying to tell me how  _ he _ wanted to use my ability, but he had no real control.” Dream explained. “So, when that connection was severed, he kept the anchor to earth and I was cast away. If it was executed properly, he simply would’ve been cast back to the gods and I would live as myself. I don’t know what would’ve happened to him after that but it wouldn’t have been pretty.”

Tommy thought about this, the closure he didn’t know he needed flooded his senses with relief. “So there’s no chance I could split like that, right? I don’t want to hurt anyone..”

Dream looked at Tommy with a small smile, a rare look to grace his features in the presence of the other. “No, Tommy. We may come from the same god, but you’re not unstable like me. You were raised by Philza, right? He’s a fallen angel of the Aether realm, his entire presence on earth revolves around helping others use the good in themselves. Because you were raised by him, your soul also linked with his realm in the smallest ways, that’s what makes you able to justify yourself so easily. I hate to admit it, but you’re much stronger than me in terms of connection. You bring strong connection to everything around you.”

_ Connection _ .

 _ “That’s the one good thing you’ve done is bring attachment and connections in this world.”  _ He heard ~~Dream~~ Dreamon spit.  _ “And as long as you do, I stay in power.”_

“I’ve.. heard that one before.” Tommy muttered, rubbing his arm uncomfortably.

Dream noticed the shift in emotion, frowning as he pulled a chair out and gestured for Tommy to sit before taking a seat across from him. “I can tell we’re going to have a lot of catching up to do, I can also tell there’s a lot you’re not ready to share, which is fine. I don’t know what happened down on earth, but I hope you’ll tell me when I earn your trust. I don’t know how long that’ll take, and I don’t expect an answer either. I just want you to know that whatever happens, I’m here to protect you. It was one of the last things I told you before I was cast up here, remember when I gave you that chest of my things to help you in Pogtopia?” He asked. “That was only a few days before the separation occurred. Dreamon isn’t me, he’s my dark half. I won’t let him manipulate you ever again, Tommy. I promise.”

Tommy looked up to meet Dreams eyes, a flash of gold surrounding them for a moment so brief he could’ve imagined it, the color so warm and genuine it was like he felt their true connection link for the first time in what felt like years. “You’ll help me, right?”

“Of course.” Dream assured. “If he could treat you as horribly as you say, I don’t want to imagine what’s happened to everyone else. I’ve got almost everything you’ll need to know here with me, as long as it’s what you want to do.”

Tommy leaned back in the chair, running a hand through his hair and letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding before breaking out into a smile, meeting Dreams gaze. “Where do we start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO 3 chapters done. This is a long one and I’m pretty happy with how it came out! I don’t know how many chapters this fic will end up being but there’s a lot to get to so keep a tab or bookmark open! Thanks for reading and as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments! (Also follow me on Twitter for updates lolol @annelizaaaa)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s probably his final trip to the afterlife before the big confrontation, and Tommy is going to need all the help he can get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me SO much longer to proof read than I intended, I’m so sorry! It was supposed to be a tad longer but I wanted to save that piece of plot for the next chapter (already in progress) so I’m sorry about the abrupt ending! As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts! your comments are what motivate me to keep this updated <3  
> tldr: lots of platonic fluff and probs a few spelling errors

Tubbo woke up bright and early per his usual routine, spending little time on his sleep-ridden appearance before making his way into the kitchen to scrap together some form of breakfast. He reminded himself to make extra to bring over to Tommy’s when he went to visit him this morning, as the taller boys ever-running mind frequently blocked his ability to remember basic human necessities.. like eating. Regardless, Tubbo never forgot these things and always made sure Tommy was eating and staying hydrated. 

Throwing the last few things into his daypack along with extra breakfast for Tommy, Tubbo headed into his living room to put on his coat and shoes where he found a pile of blankets covering a teenager who was sprawled out and asleep on his couch. Tubbo couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous position Tommy slept in, wondering how the hell he was ever comfortable with one leg draped over the top of the sofa before walking over and tapping him on the shoulder.

“Tommy? ..Tommyyyy? Wake up, time to start your daayyyy.” Tubbo called to him. When his gentle method was ineffective, he simply flopped down on the couch and laid across the taller, shaking his shoulders. “Toommmyyyyy get upppp, there’s an annoying ass intruder in my hoommmee!” Tubbo groaned dramatically, rolling back and forth. “He’s tall and has dumb hair and he’s clingy because he can’t sleep in his own house!”

Tommy awoke with an annoyed groan, trying to throw Tubbo off of him before pulling the blankets over his face to shield him from the morning light. “The only clingy one here is the twat sat on top of me who wont let me sleep!” He called back, voice muffled under the layers of fabric.

“You are just so very wrong.” Tubbo replied, shaking his head in disagreement. “You’re the clingy one. Now get up already! I’ve made you food. I want to hear about your cool god dreams!”

Tommy threw the blankets off of himself with a huff, sitting up and crossing his arms before squinting at the bright morning light. “You need to invest in some curtains, Tubzo. How long have you been up?”

“Not long.” Tubbo shrugged, ignoring the curtain remark. “I packed food for you because I was planning on visiting you, but you somehow have already materialized in my home even though I had the doors locked.”

“Oh! You’re right, that reminds me.” Tommy replied, reaching into his pocket and producing a small house key. “Jack Manifold can have his key back. I made a copy. Don’t tell him I said thank you, I didn’t ask if I could borrow it.”

Tubbo blinked at Tommy silently, shaking his head as he took the key and pocketed it.

“You resemble a raccoon with every fiber of your being.”

“Prick.”   
  


—-

“So, Dream really doesn’t know any of this happened? Like- he wasn’t involved in the exile or anything at all?” Tubbo asked incredulously. The two had spent their breakfast catching up on the escapades of Tommy’s adventure back into the afterlife, and so far it was safe to say Tubbo was in complete awe. 

“No, not at all. It was like I met a completely new person. These two halves are Dream really are completely separate. Like, when I told him even the tiniest detail about why I was put off by him being so nice to me, he got all weirdly techno-like protective and sincere and told me I didn’t have to help him if I wasn’t ready. Do you know how strange it was to see Dream being considerate?” Tommy asked, carefully cutting his apple in half before taking a bite. 

“I mean, it’s not strange to hear that your apparent brother doesn’t want any harm to you. That’s pretty average. But knowing that that brother is technically the same man who tortured and manipulated us, yeah. A bit off putting.” Tubbo agreed. “Is he really like an entirely new person?”

Tommy nodded, washing down his apple with some water before continuing. “He is! I feel like I should be more skeptical of his friendliness, my whole body is saying it’s a trick, but it’s like there’s something in my head convincing me that it’s genuine. I really want to get him out of there. And Wilbur.” He added. 

Tubbo thought for a minute before speaking, taking his plate to the sink and scraping off the leftover food scraps. “...Do you think you’d be able to bring me with you tonight?” He asked hesitantly. “I really want to see Wilbur, and I want to apologize to Dream for getting him into this whole mess. I don’t know how our connection works and I don’t expect you to know either, but it’s worth a try- yeah?”

Tommy hummed in thought, standing up and bringing his dishes to the sink where he and Tubbo took turns drying and stacking the clean ones on the counter. “Obviously, I don’t have a problem with you coming. I’d probably feel better if you did, honestly. But you’re right I have no idea how any of this works and I don’t want to wait until tonight to ask.” He explained, taking the stack of clean plates and putting them away in a cupboard. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as a thought crossed his mind. “Actually, do you have some spare time today? I think there’s someone who’ll know more about this than us.”

—-

“So Sapnap has the same connection we have, except to Dream?” Tubbo clarified, readjusting the collar of his shirt as they walked up the Prime Path. The freshly planted trees lining the path via Puffy doing little to shield them from the harsh morning sun.

“Exactly.” Tommy nodded. “Sapnap and Dream have apparently been together since the day Dream was sent away from the gods, only since Dream was older when it happened he’s been explaining their connection since the beginning. Surely Sapnap will know something we don’t.”

“What about Dream being sent away from the gods?” Came a voice from behind them, causing the two to jump. They were only a few feet away from the entrance to Sapnaps base, but he’d apparently beat them to it. Sapnap looked between the two of them skeptically, sheathing his axe and crossing his arms. “What are you talking about, Tommy?”

Slightly put off by Sapnaps defensive tone, Tommy stepped in front of Tubbo before answering. “Sapnap, we need to talk to you.”

“About what?” Sapnap replied, raising an eyebrow skeptically. “How much do you know, Tommy?”

“Everything. Well- not everything, but enough to know that you’re the only one who can help me find out more.” Tommy explained, holding his hands up in defense and looking up at the older. “What do you know about the afterlife?”

Sapnap paused for a moment, not expecting Tommy to know enough to connect him to Dream. Eventually, he dropped his arms with a sigh and motioned to them before walking into his base. “Come with me.”

Tubbo and Tommy walked quickly to keep up with Sapnap as he lead them into his living room, waiting for him to take a seat on one of the leather chairs surrounding a small coffee table before hurriedly taking their own respective seats across from him.

Taking off his helmet and setting it beside him, Sapnap began to un-strap his chest plate and toss each piece of his armor into the enderchest by his feet. “How did you learn about Dream being sent away from the gods, and how do you know about us being connected?” He asked, voice still highly skeptical and defensive as he looked between the two of them.

“He told me.” Tommy replied firmly, earning a surprised look from the other. “Dream did, not the arsehole in Sams prison. You and I both know that’s not really him.”

Sapnap nodded in agreement, his posture relaxing slightly. “You’re right, it’s not. How much do you know, and when did you talk to Dream?”

“I know enough to know that Tubbo and I share the same connection you have to Dream. Wilbur brought me into the afterlife during my sleep the night after the disc war. Needless to say, I learned a lot including how to enter that dimension again last night. We could talk all day about what I know and don’t know, but right now I just need to know how much  you know. Like, was Dream ever able to use any of his powers with you because of his connection?”

Sapnaps guard visibly dropped when he realized Tommy was telling the truth, humming in approval. “He really didn’t have any need to, but yes. We did all sorts of dumb shit as kids. I assume you’re asking because you want to bring Tubbo to the after dimension with you, correct?”

Tommy nodded. “If there’s anyone who knows how, I figured it would be you.”

The raven haired man thought for a second before speaking back up. “Alright, I’ll help you. But only if you bring me, too. I know Dreams soul is still out there but I haven’t been able to feel our connection at all. I can’t get into the afterlife alone, but with you being his brother I don’t see why I wouldn’t work the same way.” He explained.

Tommy visibly lit up at the news, grabbing onto Tubbos arm in excitement. “Yes, yes of course I can!”

Sapnap smiled slightly, standing up and stretching before crossing his arms again. “Then it’s settled. Meet me back here at 9:00, alright?”

—-

The rest of the days events came and went in a flurry of path repairs and chest organizing and soon enough Tommy and Tubbo found themselves sitting cross legged on the floor of Sapnaps living room, all furniture having been pushed to the sides of the small space darkened by the rapidly set sun.

“Alright, now I know what I’m doing here and it’ll work as long as Tommy is granting me acceptance to pass through with him in his mind. Tubbo, this being your first time, all you’ll need to do is being in some kind of physical contact with Tommy and his power will essentially do the rest. Does that make sense?” Sapnap asked, tightening the loose strings on his headband before resting his hands back in his lap, looking between the two of them.

Tommy looked to Tubbo, who nodded in affirmation before grabbing his hand. “Yeah, we’re ready. So I just have to bring myself there like I did last night and you two will show up with me?” He clarified.

“Correct.” Sapnap nodded. “Only difference is along with picturing yourself back in the afterlife, you’ll be imaging Tubbo and I there as well.”

Tommy let out a shaky sigh, readjusting his grip on Tubbos hand before nodding and closing his eyes. “Alright, let’s do this.” He muttered, letting his head drop as he worked hard to picture the white abyss he’d grown familiar with, remembering the frustrations he’d taken ahold of with Techno and channeling them into envisioning Sapnap and Tubbo there with him, it was only when Tubbo let out a gasp and dropped his hand did he stop to open his eyes.

Around them was nothing but that same whiteness, surrounding them endlessly causing both Sapnap and Tubbo to look around in complete awe.

Tommy looked down at his own hands as if trying to see where the magic had come from, a satisfied warmth settling into his chest. 

“Welcome back, I see you’ve brought stragglers.” Came a voice from beyond, a familiar oak door materializing allowing Wilbur to step out of it, his tired smile bringing warmth to his eyes. 

Tubbo lit up at the site of the former president, eyes sparkling with a mixture of joy and happy tears. “Wilbur!”

Wilbur walked over, nodding to Sapnap as a greeting before opening his arms for Tubbo who came barreling into the hug. He looked over at Tommy and motioned him in as well, holding the two close for a silent beat as he rested his head atop theirs. “You two haven’t changed.” He chuckled, hugging them close once more before letting go. “Tommy, I’m glad you made it safely. Tubbo, Welcome. Sapnap, it’s good to see you.”

Sapnap gave a small wave. “Good to see you too, Wilbur. Where’s Dream at?” He asked politely, the anticipation and impatience to see his friend creeping into his words

“Right, I figured you’d be here for him.” Wilbur nodded, gesturing Sapnap over. “Come with me!”

Before Wilbur could even open the door fully Sapnap was pushing past him, skidding to a stop in the center of the room where he and Dream locked eyes immediately.

“No way..” Dream breathed, standing up from behind his desk. “Sap?”

Before he could even think of words to speak, Sapnap was flying across the open room, clearing the desk with ease and tackling Dream in a hug, the two falling to their knees and holding each other so tightly the others in the room were sure it couldn’t have been comfortable in the slightest.

The pair sat in silence for a long minute, the room seemingly buzzing with energy as they sat in the embrace, Sapnap repeatedly calling Dream multiple insults for leaving him while Dream laughed through happy tears. Finally breaking away from the embrace, the two stood up.

Wiping away his tears with the end of his hoodie sleeve, Dream laughed again. “Took you long enough to get here. I thought you must’ve just believed Dreamon was really me at this point.”

Sapnap scoffed, wiping his own tears and crossing his arms. “Please. That asshole? I know the difference, I just couldn’t get here without your stupid help is all. You’re lucky as hell Tommy was stubborn enough to egg him on. If he didn’t figure out the truth I  _ still _ wouldn’t be here.”

Wilbur snorted from across the room at this, earning an elbow to the ribs from Tommy. At this, Dream looked up as if realizing for the first time the other two visitors in the room. His eyes bounced between the two younger boys, earning a nodding gesture from Tommy before landing his sights on Tubbo.“Mr.President.” He greeted.

Tubbo laughed shyly at this, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Not quite anymore, really. But thank you Dream. I-I’m really sorry about everything that happened. I never would’ve attempted it if I knew what could happen. I didn’t realize how serious it was at the time and I thought you were just playing along.”

Dream smiled knowingly, shaking his head. “No worries, Tubbo. I know you didn’t know, it was stupid of me not to inform you about it all I just didn’t know how to since you didn’t know about any of your connections to things like that.” He explained, gesturing around him. “You seem to be doing fine with it all though, all things considered. I’m glad you came by.”

Tubbo couldn’t help but laugh at how casually Dream was treating their travel across the astral planes. “I wanted to see Wilbur and apologize to you formally. I also figured if there was any way to get you two back on earth, I’d be more helpful to Tommy if I actually learned about it.” He added sheepishly.

“You.. also want me back? Really?” Dream asked incredulously. “Even after everything that happened?”

Tubbo thought about it for a minute. “I mean, yeah. If everything was really Dreamon like I’ve been told, then I’d have nothing to hold against you.” He shrugged. “The only person I never want to see again would be him. I think I speak for everyone back home when I say we miss Dream.”

At this, Sapnap nudged Dream lightly. “ Everyone .” He added. “Especially George. He knows something is up. I think everyone is just as confused, but you and I both know George can read you like a book. He’s been grilling me for weeks.”

At the mention of George, an emotion they couldn’t quite place flashed across Dreams eyes. “George..” He muttered to himself, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts before looking back up. “Alright, let’s figure this out.” He replied firmly.

Sapnap covered a laugh with a cough while the others looked at him curiously, earning an eye roll from Dream.

“...Like I was saying, the energy towards the Dreamon is clearly very negative back home. This is useful, as Tommy hasn’t gained full control of his power yet. That negative energy will help fuel what needs to be done. Nevertheless, I can help Tommy get where he needs to be in terms of power by the end of the week easily.” Dream explained

“The end of the week? You and Wilbur could be back on earth by the end of the week?” Tubbo asked in awe, Dream nodding in confirmation.

Wilbur laughed lightly at this, shaking his head. “God, it feels like we just got here. So the chaos trio is going to run rampant yet again?” He chuckled.

“Trio?” Tommy frowned. “I think you’re getting old in the head, Will. There’s only two of you.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes with a smirk. “Oh, didn’t you know? You can’t just pick and choose who you resurrect when you’re messing with the afterlife. You’re taking all 3 of us.”

“Three..?” Tubbo asked hesitantly. “Surely you don’t mean..”

As if on que, Jschlatt materialized in the room, sitting comfortably on the edge of Dreams desk. “Hey big guy, do you think you could-“ He paused at the stunned gasp that formed, eyes widening only for a second as he surveyed the small crowd around him. “Oh, no. Absolutely not.”

“Schlatt?!” Tubbo exclaimed.

“Why aren’t you in hell.” Tommy groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration. “Fuckin’ wrongen.”

“No no no no, fuck this, fuck- I don’t wanna go back to that god damn server!” Schlatt ranted, hopping down from his perch on the desk and walking away with his arms up in mock surrender. “You don’t understand. I’m- I’m fully dead, that’s what I want.” He rambled, looking back from the doorway one last time before disappearing in an angry puff of grey haze. “ _ Glatt _ !”

Silence fell upon the room at the sudden disturbance, Tommy unconsciously shifting closer to Tubbo and silently offering his hand which Tubbo immediately grabbed in a vice-grip.

Noticing the shift in atmosphere, Wilbur cleared his throat and stood from where he had previously been leaned against a wall. “Dream, I think we’ll give you and Sapnap a moment to catch up. I’m gonna go talk with Tommy and Tubbo for a moment.” He explained, gesturing for the two to follow him out the door.

As Dream and Sapnap talked quietly amongst themselves, Wilbur shut the door behind the trio and let out a sigh. “Are you two alright?” He asked softly.

While Tommy just looked a mix between shell shock and downright livid, Tubbo looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“I’m fine I just- I absolutely despise that stupid man.” Tommy seethed, releasing Tubbos grip only to rest his hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, Tubbo. Are you okay? That was really sudden, I get it.. I’m sorry I didn’t think to warn you.” He muttered.

Tubbo let out a shaky sigh, rubbing his face and shaking his head. “No, no. You didn’t know, you’re okay. It’s just a lot, you know? I’m a little overwhelmed. Everything was already going pretty fast as it was. I just really wasn’t expecting to see Schlatt is all.”

Wilbur watched the interaction with a small frown. He knew these boys like he knew himself. He could tell what they were acting strong and he certainly knew when they were on the edge of having a breakdown. 

“Hey.” He spoke up, gaining their attention. “You two are doing brilliantly, okay? You’re just fine. You’ve faced more trauma and war in your years than anyone should face in a lifetime and you’re still hitting the ground running. You’re much stronger than I ever was and for that I applaud you, but you don’t have to be strong all the time, okay?” He asked, resting a hand on either of their shoulders. “I understand putting up that act around Dream and Sapnap, but you don’t have to do that around me and you certainly don’t have to do it around each other. This world has taken so much from you, don’t lose sight of what you still have. I’m so proud of you two.”

This alone was the final crack needed to send their walls crumbling down, both boys falling into Wilburs arms in a mess of hiccups and sobs. Wilbur couldn’t help but smile sadly at the kids he left when they needed him most, holding them tighter for a moment before releasing the hug.

“Sorry, I-“ Tommy started, wiping his eyes and sighing before he could think of what to apologize for. “Thanks, Will.”

“Of course.” Wilbur smiled. “You’re an astounding fighter and an even better friend, Tommy but I know my little brother.” He chuckled, looking over to Tubbo. “I know both of my brothers. Right?”

Tubbo cracked a smile at this, wiping his own eyes and laughing, nodding quietly. “Right.”

“Speaking of family.” Tommy interjected, fidgeting with the end of his sleeve. “Philza really misses you, Will. He still blames himself and I know you don’t blame him at all but he.. it’s hard for him sometimes, you know? I was wondering if there was anything I could bring back to him that could show him that you’re really okay?” He asked hesitantly.

Wilbur thought for a minute, that ever present knowing gleam in his eye before he nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, I’ve got an idea.”


End file.
